Canonical, creators of Ubuntu and more specifically Ubuntu Touch, have some potentially upsetting news. While in the process of developing Ubuntu Touch, the team has decided to narrow down hardware support to better focus on the operating system itself. They have officially dropped support for the Nexus 7 2012, Nexus 10, and Galaxy Nexus.

All that remains now is the Nexus 4 and the Nexus 7 2013. They also announced that the Nexus 5 would not be adopted at the moment, so owners of the device are also out of luck. On one hand, this gives Canonical more energy to focus on the actual software instead of supporting many different types of hardware. On the other hand, this also takes away from its relevance, as far less people will be able to experience it and help out in some way.

Canonical is taking a big risk, because this move can prove fatal to the software’s relevancy. How many people really think Ubuntu Touch can take off? We don’t know, but we hope that the team creates a great product that people will actually want to use. What are your thoughts on Ubuntu Touch? Can it succeed? Leave a comment!

Dima Aryeh is a Russian obsessed with all things tech. He does photography, is an avid phone modder (who uses an AT&T Galaxy Note II), a heavy gamer (both PC and 360), and an aspiring home mechanic. He is also an avid fan of music, especially power metal.

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Kevin

Incredibly short sighted.

ramzi bin shamsuddin

Can reply bahasa malaysia but i’m cannot english

Marky

Makes sense. By getting the core product finished and tidy it can be left to the community to build image for hardware. Ubuntu don’t have to support any third party hardware. They don’t do it for servers or laptops.

It would be good to see some compatibility with the Nexus 7 2013 model. Presently this is absent due to differences in the underlying Google system which is a shame. It’s a nice device to run Ubuntu Touch upon I think and would allow me to justify buying it alongside my existing Sony Android tablet.

Aaron Toponce

“By getting the core product finished and tidy it can be left to the community to build image for hardware.”

The “community” is a myth. There is no community developing Ubuntu anymore. It’s all done in house by Canonical employees. The only “community”, is the one submitting bugs that aren’t getting fixed, and providing support via IRC or forums.

famoso jorden

“Canonical is taking a big risk, because this move can prove fatal to the software’s relevancy.” –

Yessir! The Nexus 4 is still a beast, but not actually THE phone I would personally think of as “the phone people want to run ubuntu-phone on”, anymore. And even IF, the Galaxy Nexus is still a loved phone, so is the Nexus 5…UP won’t take off imho…I would have used it on my N5 though…if I could ;(

Zach

I think they’re leaving their target customer in the dust…

Their target customer is someone who is likely on the forefront of mobile technology. They may have had a nexus 4, but let’s face it. they probably upgraded to a nexus 5 like myself.

Unless they make builds for other phones, they’ll never get the traction they need.

Paul

I’m more anti-iOS than I am pro-Android. Sad but true. But if a better Android platform came out, I mean just superior to Android, then I’d have no qualms with shipping. I had high hopes for WebOS and MeeGoo but they just faltered. I have ‘hopes’ for Ubuntu Touch since I’m a Senior Linux Admin who loves/uses Ubuntu daily, but I think they have a very difficult uphill battle if they want to try and make a dent in Android. I’m all for it, competition is good for us consumers, but I just can’t see them doing it, or anybody really. Microsoft and Blackberry have been fighting that uphill battle for months/years now with very little success, and they at least have name recognition. Not sure my Mom or next door neighbor or the average teenager at the mall has heard of Canonical or Ubuntu. I wish them luck, I truly do, but I doubt they’ll pull it off.

Ayberk Tosun

Did they have support for the 2013 Nexus 7?

John Edward Skovron

Ive never heard of ubuntu or canonical… im just an ordinary working guy up in Canada. I am quite informed about most Android products, but yeah, never heard of it

http://www.androidandme.com Dima Aryeh

Ubuntu is a Linux distro, a version of the Linux operating system for computers. Probably the most popular version too. Basically, it’s a Windows/OSX replacement but free and open source. Canonical is the company behind it, and they’re working on a version of Ubuntu for Android devices called Ubuntu Touch. Nothing hugely significant Android users need to know, but hey, you learn something new every day.

donger

Bummer.

milky

Continuing to support past-generation devices would have caused them to fall out of relevance.

Tons of people in the mobile dev/superuser have the 2nd gen nexus 7 because they are staying on top of the latest and greatest… nexus 7 2013 is one of the most powerful tablets in the market right now.

Mainstream relevance will come with the OEM installed products, which will be realized more quickly when focusing more on the actual OS.

The 2nd gen Nexus 7 will likely continue to be at the top of the tablet market until Ubuntu has finished their product.

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